Spaceflight Insider

Lloyd Campbell’s first interest in space began when he was a very young boy in the 1960s with NASA’s Gemini and Apollo programs. That passion continued in the early 1970s with our continued exploration of our Moon, and was renewed by the Shuttle Program. Having attended the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on its final two missions, STS-131, and STS-133, he began to do more social networking on space and that developed into writing more in-depth articles. Since then he’s attended the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, the agency’s new crew-rated Orion spacecraft on Exploration Flight Test 1, and multiple other uncrewed launches. In addition to writing, Lloyd has also been doing more photography of launches and aviation. He enjoys all aspects of space exploration, both human, and robotic, but his primary passions lie with human exploration and the vehicles, rockets, and other technologies that allow humanity to explore space.

Articles By Lloyd Campbell

On Nov. 18 2018, Virgin Orbit completed its first successful carry test of the LauncherOne system. LauncherOne is an air launched two-stage rocket that is designed to be able to carry small satellites into low-Earth orbit.

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) has completed a major milestone with the first major piece of the rocket's core stage being fully assembled and ready for integration into other hardware in advance of the vehicle’s first test flight—Exploration Mission-1.

NASA is asking for proposals from industry to partner with the space agency in developing the first piece of its proposed Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway through a draft broad agency announcement. The space station proposed to be a cislunar outpost for deep space exploration missions, both robotic and human.

Following a successful second supersonic test flight of the Virgin Spaceship (VSS) Unity, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic spacecraft could be on the verge of becoming the first privately funded spacecraft to carry humans into space since SpaceShipOne some 14 years ago.

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. — Another load of supplies, science experiments and CubeSats is on its way to the International Space Station. In the early-morning hours of May 21, 2018, Orbital ATK launched its OA-9 Cygnus spacecraft atop an Antares 230 rocket.

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. — Orbital ATK is set to send its next Cygnus resupply freighter to the International Space Station. The company's OA-9 mission is currently aiming for a liftoff at 4:39 a.m. EDT (08:39 GMT) May 21, 2018, from Pad-0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.

Orbital ATK's next resupply mission to the International Space Station has been postponed 24 hours, according to the company. The OA-9 Cygnus cargo spacecraft's flight into space atop an Antares rocket had originally been scheduled for May 20, 2018.

With the retirement of Dan Collins earlier this year from United Launch Alliance (ULA) after serving 11 years as its Chief Operating Officer (COO), the search for a replacement began. ULA has now named John Elbon as that replacement.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — On April 21, 2018, the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame membership swelled to a total of 97 when Space Shuttle astronauts Thomas Jones and Scott Altman were inducted into the hall. This was the 17th induction of astronauts from the Space Shuttle era.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. --The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame will induct two new astronauts on April 21, 2018. Joining the other 95 astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle Programs will be Space Shuttle astronauts Thomas Jones and Scott Altman.

The GSAT-6A communications satellite that was launched atop a GSLV Mark II rocket March 29, 2018, has not been heard from since the satellite's Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) completed its second orbit-raising burn, the Indian Space Resource Organisation confirmed on its website.

After a stellar 2017 with 18 launches of its Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX continues its rapid launch rate for 2018 with its successful launch of the Iridium-5 mission from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California.